On August 5, 2010, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision granting the Defendant Queen Bee’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in the trademark counterfeit case of Chloé v. Queen Bee of Beverly Hills, LLC, 571 F. Supp. 2d 518 (S.D.N.Y. 2008). The court held that the single act of shipping an item into New York, combined with substantial activity involving New York, comports with New York’s long-arm statute, N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 302(a) (McKinney 2001), and with due process. Chloe v. Queen Bee of Beverly Hills, LLC, 09-3361-cv (2d. Cir. 2010).
Chloé sells upscale leather handbags, and is the owner of a trademark registration for the word mark CHLOÉ for handbags. In 2005, Chloé was selling its leather handbags for approximately $1,600 in boutiques. Queen Bee of Beverly Hills sold counterfeit copies of the handbag on its Web site, www.queenbeebeverlyhills.com, for $1,200, plus shipping.
